The present invention relates to thin semiconductor cards incorporating semiconductor devices, such as IC cards, and specifically to the structure of the card.
Such cards have a variety of configurations. The configuration discussed below is that of a prior art IC card with built-in semiconductor module.
Plan and side views of such an IC card are shown in FIG. 4 at (a) and (b). The components are the semiconductor module 1 and the card main body 2. Electrical communication with external devices is performed through a number of electrode contacts 7 mounted on the surface of the semiconductor module.
When information is written into or read from such an IC card, the card must be inserted into an external device, which communicates with the card main body through the electrode contacts 7.
The dimensions and external configuration of the most widely-used IC cards have been standardized. When such cards are attached to clothing etc. for use as personal identification (ID cards), their large size is an inconvenience, and exposure of the contact surfaces may cause destruction of internal circuit elements because of the static charges.